


No Regrets

by queenlevana



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, It gets better I promise, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:22:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27374908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenlevana/pseuds/queenlevana
Summary: When Nick passes, everyone around him must learn to embrace change.Updates every Tuesday and Thursday.
Relationships: Alex & Luke Patterson & Reggie & Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex & Luke Patterson & Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Flynn & Carrie Wilson, Flynn & Julie Molina, Flynn & Julie Molina & Carrie Wilson, Flynn/Carrie Wilson, Nick & Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Nick/Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), background Alex/Willie, minor Julie Molina/Luke Patterson - Relationship
Comments: 60
Kudos: 146





	1. Reggie

Reggie stood behind Julie, in the back of the crowd of people now watching the coffin being lowered into the ground. The weather was beautiful - perfectly sunny with a slight breeze that kept it from getting too hot - but the atmosphere of the place was the exact opposite.

“Can we go now? I feel like we’re intruding,” Reggie whispered to Alex and Luke, both standing next to him. Alex elbowed him in the ribs, which wasn’t that painful, but Reggie still muttered, “Ow.”

“You know how Julie feels. We were all there,” Luke said. “The least we can do is be respectful."

Reggie recalled the last month. It was one of the craziest months of his afterlife, which was saying something considering how many strange things had happened in the time since the boys showed up in Julie’s studio. After weeks of Julie being tormented by an unknown force, facing bouts of sickness, canceling performances, and struggling to keep up with schoolwork, her and the boys had finally figured out the truth. Not only was Caleb behind the whole thing (again), but he had been possessing one of Julie’s closest friends, Nick. It took only a day for them to work out and execute the plan to remove Caleb from Nick’s body, but the damage had been done.

“Alright, fine,” Reggie replied. He knew how hard this was for Julie, who had watched Nick wrestle with the impact of a ghost possessing his body for a month. He had been rushed to the hospital, where doctors attributed the sudden illness to an aggressive strain of the flu.

Those final days were the worst, Reggie remembered. They’d reminded Julie of her visits to her mom in her final days, and she hadn’t handled it very well. The boys had done everything they could to cheer her up, but when Nick had passed, Julie was a wreck. And here they were a week later, laying him to rest in the same place as her mom.

Reggie knew he was lucky. The one comfort he’d had when he’d died was that at least Alex and Luke had been with him. He couldn’t imagine how Nick felt being so alone. But it made it worse to watch the funeral. It wasn’t that he felt like an intruder - it was that he couldn’t bear to stand the thought of how much pain Nick had been in. He saw Nick’s family standing in the front, his moms trying to console Nick’s little sister, who had broken down in tears again. They reminded Reggie of his own younger brother, Mikey, who had probably gone through the same thing. Reggie didn’t even know where his family was now.

“Hey man, you okay?” Luke had turned to him, concerned. It wasn’t until then Reggie had realized he’d started crying.

“Yeah, I just… I just need a minute to myself,” Reggie responded, wiping his face. He silently walked over to the other side of the cemetery, where a large oak tree stood, and leaned against it, taking deep breaths. He loved the guys, he really did, but in times like this he needed a moment alone. Luke had managed to make up with his parents, and Alex had learned to move on when he found out his family had, too. But Reggie knew his parents and his brother were still out there somewhere, wondering what exactly had happened to him, and not being able to see them hurt Reggie, even if they hadn’t exactly been a perfect family.

“Let’s count the flowers,” Reggie said to himself, looking around at the dandelions scattered across the grass in patches. It was a trick he’d used often - focus on what was real around him to forget about the pain. “One, two, three…”

“You’re taking this a lot worse than I am,” a voice said from above, spooking Reggie. He jumped, hitting his head on the tree.

“What the…?” He spun around, searching for the voice.

“Up here.” Reggie tilted his head up to see a familiar-looking kid with scruffy, blonde hair looking down at him.

“You can see me!” Reggie said, before putting two and two together and realizing the kid he was looking at was in fact the kid whose funeral he’d been attending. “Wait a minute… you’re Nick!”

Nick nodded. “That’s me. The cemetery’s newest dead boy.” He raised his eyebrows in shock. “And you’re that bassist in Julie’s band! You guys are ghosts?”

“Yep. Guess we both learned something new today.” Reggie poofed up to the branch Nick was sitting on and sat down next to him, noticing Nick’s eyes were red. “Still in shock?”

“Yeah, the biggest shock of my life. Well, afterlife,” Nick answered. “It’s not every day you find out not only that you’ve died, but you’re back as a ghost that nobody can see or interact with.”

“I know how that feels.” Reggie recalled all the moments he’d tried to bond with the Molina family, only to be reminded over and over again that he wasn’t real to them. He wondered if that’s why the Hollywood Ghost Club had been so attractive to the boys all those weeks ago.

Nick sighed. “I thought maybe I could like, haunt my family or something. But would that be too painful for them? Do they need to be able to… to move on?” He swallowed to avoid crying, and Reggie could feel his heart breaking. Being a ghost meant Nick couldn’t rest in peace, and he had no idea what to do about that. “Anyways, I shouldn’t be bothering you with this. I don’t even know your name.”

“Reginald,” Reggie responded. “But you can call me Reggie if you want. And it’s fine, I get it.” Reggie had no idea how to be the supportive one, but he felt like he had to try. “When the boys and I first found out we were ghosts, it took a lot of getting used to. I remember Alex panicking a lot. But we had Julie around.”

Nick turned to face Reggie. “Right, Julie. She can see you guys?"

“Yeah. I still don’t know exactly how our band works, but she makes us visible to everyone else when we play.” He decided not to bring up the part where she unlocked the boys’ ability to make themselves appear to lifers. If it didn’t work for Nick, it would just make him feel worse.

Reggie saw Nick’s eyes light up. “Wait, can Julie see other ghosts too?” He asked, and Reggie nodded in response. “Does that mean she can see me? She was there when I… you know… died. I just want to tell her it’s not her fault. She did her best, and…” Nick’s voice cracked, causing him to pause for a moment before continuing. “I want her to know she shouldn’t blame herself for me getting caught up in all this.”

Reggie was surprised. Considering Nick knew Caleb was using him just to get back at Julie, and that he was a casualty of something bigger than himself, Reggie had figured Nick would be more angry. But he just seemed heartbroken for his friend. “We can try after the funeral. Although, she was there when you passed. Wouldn’t she have seen you then?”

Nick shrugged. “I don’t remember seeing anyone before becoming a ghost. I was in a lot of pain, and then it stopped, like I had immediately gotten better. But when I woke up, I was outside the church, watching people go inside. My parents didn’t see me, though, no matter how hard I tried. So I wandered here.”

Reggie didn’t know how to respond to that, so the two were silent for a while. He didn’t want to say something stupid to make Nick feel worse than he already did. But after a while, Reggie could tell Nick was on the verge of tears again.

“You know, being a ghost has its perks. You can teleport places,” Reggie said. “One time, my friends and I went to sit on the roof of the Orpheum. Although I did lose my shirt while getting up there.” Nick let out the smallest chuckle, and Reggie grinned, thinking about all the silly things that had happened to him and the boys. “Plus, there was that one time we haunted an old bandmate of ours, and we freaked him out so much that I think he peed his pants a bit.” That got Nick laughing more, and the smile on his face convinced Reggie to keep going. “There were so many different situations we got ourselves stuck in. Like once when Alex screamed in a museum with his boyfriend and almost gave a security officer a heart attack…”

Reggie and Nick sat there for a while like that, Reggie telling stupid stories just to make Nick feel better. Eventually, Reggie was telling Nick about how the band had formed, and how they’d ended up opening for Panic! at the Disco.

“I’ll be honest, I still don’t know who Panic! at the Disco is or what kind of music they perform. Who would panic at a disco?” Nick burst into laughter at this, and Reggie thought he could sit there all day watching him.

“Next you’re going to tell me you don’t know who Harry Styles is.”

“Honestly? No clue. Is that even his real name? It sounds fake.”

“Your name is Reginald. That’s like an 80-year-old banker’s name.”

“Hey! It was my grandfather’s name. I’ll have you know he was a salesman.”

Nick grinned. “That is worse.”

“What! How? I think that’s a good job to have.”

“Nah, salesmen are all scammers nowadays. Besides, you can buy practically anything from the Internet. Why would you need some guy to harass you?”

Reggie was surprised. “You can buy things using the Internet? Where would you go to pick up the items?"

“Oh man, there’s so much to teach you,” Nick said, shaking his head.

That was when Reggie noticed the crowd of people on the other side of the cemetery had started to dissipate. “It looks like your funeral is over."

Nick smile faded, and Reggie regretted mentioning it immediately. “I wonder where Julie headed off to…” Nick said, searching for her familiar curls in the crowd.

“Over there!” Reggie pointed upon seeing Julie standing to the side with her dad. Alex and Luke weren’t there, so Reggie figured they’d already headed out. “Come on.” Before Nick could say anything, Reggie grabbed his hand and poofed them over.

Julie noticed Reggie and turned to her dad. “Could you give me a minute alone? I’ll walk to the car.” Her dad looked like he was going to refuse, but after a second nodded and silently walked off.

“Reggie? I thought you left with the others,” Julie said. “What are you still doing here alone?"

“Alone? But I…” Reggie trailed off, realizing she couldn’t see Nick. He turned to face him and was about to speak when Nick shook his head.

“Don’t tell her I’m here. If she can’t see me… ” Nick took a deep breath. “I’d rather it stay that way. I don’t want her to feel worse knowing I’m stuck like this.”

“I-I just needed a minute to myself,” Reggie said instead.

Julie nodded in understanding. “I’ll see you back home, then.” She turned around and headed off.

Reggie turned to Nick. “You could come with, you know,” he told him. “We’ve got a pretty nice setup. There’s a sweet couch, and Julie pushed in an old TV so we could watch stuff. I heard there’s a new version of Ducktales!”

Nick smiled. “I appreciate that. But I don’t know if I’m ready to leave my family yet. Maybe I’ll hang around at my place for a while.”

Reggie understood. “Feel free to stop by whenever, then. I know the guys would love to meet you.”

Nick nodded, and hesitated for a moment before reaching out a hand. “Thanks for… well, everything,” he said.

Reggie smiled and shook his hand, and watched as Nick thought for a moment before disappearing. “He sure is a natural,” he whispered to himself.


	2. Nick

It had been a week since Nick’s funeral, and he was miserable. Feeling like he couldn’t leave his family behind so soon, he had taken to lurking in his room. But day after day, relatives, family friends, and classmates had been stopping by, and it was getting harder to see them struggle to move on.

The worst had been just now, when Carrie had come over. Nick hadn’t been expecting to see her after the funeral, but she’d stopped by to spend time with Nick’s little sister, Emma. Nick knew how much Emma looked up to Carrie, and so at first he was ecstatic to see them together. But when they’d started talking about him, Nick couldn’t stand it anymore. Feeling like he’d break something if he stuck around for too long, he poofed out to Hollywood Boulevard.

Nick knew he could’ve stopped by at Julie’s place - he really appreciated Reggie’s offer - but something about the idea made him nervous. It wasn’t even about being around Julie, although he was still depressed that she couldn’t see him. But thinking of spending time with Reggie gave him butterflies in his stomach. Nick didn’t know what that meant, and he was scared of finding out.

So instead, Nick took a deep breath and walked down the sidewalk, admiring the weather and laughing at the tourists. He’d always thought it was cheesy to be taking pictures with people dressed as celebrities. Apparently, two guys on his left felt the same way, because they were having fun photobombing pictures by diving in front of the cameras at the last second. Nick shook his head, laughing, before noticing one of the guys walk right through Elvis.

“That would explain a lot,” Nick muttered to himself, wondering how many times that had happened when he was alive without him noticing.

“You guys, I want to try!” A familiar voice whined, and Nick turned to look back at the guys in time to see Reggie running up to them and doing the worst rendition of a moonwalk Nick had ever seen, right through a family. Reggie laughed and looked up, spotting Nick almost immediately.

“Hey!” Reggie called, waving at Nick and rushing over to him. Nick felt that familiar flop in his stomach that he’d get when thinking about Reggie.

“Reggie! Hey,” Nick said, smiling a bit. Despite his initial nervousness, was nice to see him in a better mood than before, when they’d first met.

“Alex, Willie, Luke, come say hi to Nick!” The two guys Nick had first noticed headed over, accompanied by a third Nick knew was the lead guitarist in Julie’s band. “Nick, this is Alex and Luke, my bandmates, and Willie, Alex’s boyfriend.” 

“Nice to officially meet you guys,” Nick responded. “Your band is seriously talented.”

Alex and Luke look surprised to see him. “Uh, Reg?” Alex said. “You didn’t mention seeing Nick’s ghost at the funeral.”

“What? Yeah I did,” Reggie argued. “I told you guys, when I was off by myself I was talking to Nick.”

Luke grinned. “Yeah, man, when you said that we’d assumed you were talking to his grave or something. You weren’t very clear about it.”

“Besides,” Alex chimed in, “that is something you do a lot by yourself.”

“I do not!” Reggie exclaimed.

“Do too!” Alex responded.

“Ahem,” the third boy, Willie, said, motioning to Nick. “You’re making him uncomfortable.”

“Sorry about that,” Luke said. “It’s nice to actually meet you.”

Nick smiled. “Likewise. And it’s no problem.”

“We were just about to head to the beach. Why don’t you come with us?” Reggie asked. “Julie told us about this sick boardwalk fair that we were gonna check out.”

“Sure,” Nick said. It wasn’t like he had anything else to do. By this point, Carrie had probably left his house, but Nick still wanted some time away to feel better.

“See you there,” Alex said before grabbing Willie’s hand and poofing out. Luke followed suit, and then it was just Nick and Reggie.

Reggie held out his hand and Nick took it, once again struck by how warm and real he felt. Reggie didn’t say anything; he simply smiled before they suddenly landed on the beach. The sun had started to set, casting a golden glow over the shimmering water, so Willie suggested the five of them take a stroll on the sand for a while.

Despite the initial warm reception, Nick could tell the guys were a bit nervous. It took him a minute to figure it out, but when the realization dawned on him, he felt stupid for not saying anything sooner.

“You guys were there, weren’t you,” Nick said, breaking the silence.

Luke swallowed. “Yeah. Not only when you died, but when we uh… broke the possession. Willie was, too.”

Nick noticed Willie cringe, but he didn’t say anything, so Nick responded. “Thank you. For doing the best you could.” Luke look surprised, as if he’d expected Nick to be more upset, but he nodded in response.

“Not to sound like a Scooby Doo villain, but we aren’t letting Caleb get away with this,” Luke declared. Nick shuddered upon the mention of Caleb’s name. He’d been avoiding thinking about the final, blurry month of his life, when Caleb had been in his head, messing with his friends. He’d come to terms with the fact that he was dead better than he’d dealt with thinking about a ghost in his body.

Reggie seemed to notice Nick’s sudden change in mood, and Nick was grateful when he quickly changed the subject. “So, wanna hear about our future performances?”

Alex seemed to take the hint. “Oh yeah, our new songs are fly!”

“Yeah, man, and we’re playing at all the places that will let us in,” Luke chimed in. Nick listened to the boys talk excitedly about their upcoming opportunities and playing with Julie. “When she sings, she just... has this energy, you know?” Luke added, resulting in knowing smiles being shared between Alex, Reggie, and Willie. It was obvious he was head-over-heels for the girl, and Nick grinned too, knowing Julie felt the same way about Luke.

Before Nick realized it, the sun had set and the calm beach had been replaced by bright neon lights and the smell of caramel and popcorn. Alex and Willie ran off immediately, excited to ride the Ferris wheel, and Luke rolled his eyes at them before saying he was going to try out the rollercoasters. Once again, Nick found himself alone with Reggie and unsure of what to do.

“Are you good at fair games?” Reggie asked, and Nick nodded. “Then I need you to win me something.” Nick found himself being led through the crowd until they found a toss-the-ring stand.

“How exactly do you plan on playing?” Nick asked, and Reggie thought for a moment before responding. He explained his idea to Nick, who laughed before agreeing.

“Okay, get in position, then,” Nick said, discreetly grabbing a stack of rings and standing next to the milk bottles lined up in the back. Reggie stood behind the man running the stand, and the two waited until, sure enough, a little kid holding cotton candy came up with his mom.

“Mommy, I want to play!” The boy begged, and his mom relented, barely looking up from her phone to pay for a turn. Nick nodded to Reggie to be ready, and the moment the kid tossed the rings Reggie went into action, crashing into a crate of milk bottles and destroying them.

“What the…?” The man said, turning to the source of the noise. Instantly, Nick reacted, sticking three rings on a single milk bottle and pushing the little kid’s poorly-aimed attempts aside so that nobody would notice them.

“Look mommy, I won it!” The man looked like he was going to protest, and the mom was surprised, muttering something about baseball lessons paying off. Grumbling, the man relented and reached up to hand the kid a plushie.

“Now!” Reggie hissed, and Nick reached forward, tore a giant purple elephant from the stand, and ran from the scene of the crime, Reggie on his tail.

“Hey!” The man yelled, noticing one of his largest prizes was now missing. “Who’s playing tricks on me! Arthur, I swear if that’s you…” The man kept on ranting, but he didn’t chase after Nick and Reggie, and so the two stopped to catch their breaths, wheezing from laughter.

“That was awesome. We should do it again!” Reggie exclaimed.

“I think we’d make the owners too suspicious,” Nick said. He handed the elephant to Reggie. “I believe this belongs to you.”

Reggie grinned and wrapped his arms around the elephant. “I’m going to name him…Peanut!” Nick laughed even harder at that, and Reggie looked proud of himself.

“We should go show off to the others,” Reggie suggested, and Nick followed him as they made their way through the crowd. After running into Luke at one of the rollercoasters, they joined him in the back, Reggie screaming in joy and Nick feeling like he might puke and reminding himself that ghosts couldn’t vomit. Well… he wasn’t exactly sure about that. He really hoped ghosts couldn’t vomit.

They rode over and over again at Reggie’s insistence until Luke threatened to push Reggie into the ocean, and the three of them finally tumbled out and headed off to look for Alex and Willie. They found the two sitting on the edge of the pier, swinging their legs, and Reggie, Luke, and Nick joined them, Reggie introducing Peanut to each of them and Alex laughing so hard he choked on his own spit. It warmed Nick’s heart seeing how close the guys were. They might have all led completely different lives, but dying had given them the opportunity to be closer. Nick wondered if he’d ever find that for himself.

It was fully nighttime now, the stars shimmering across the sky and the moon glowing in a reflection on the water, but the brisk breeze that had kept the beach from feeling too hot had turned bitterly cold, and Nick shivered. It was too bad being a ghost couldn’t protect him from the new chill.

Reggie noticed and unwrapped the flannel tied around his waist, handing it to Nick. “Here,” he said. “Since you look freezing.”

Nick quickly put it on, grateful for the extra layer. It was thick and warm, and smelled a bit like leather and smoked wood. “Thanks,” he said.

Luke smacked Nick on the arm. “Looks like you’re one of us now. The ultimate boyband.”

Reggie laughed. “Oh man, Julie’s gonna have her hands full with us.”

“It’ll be fine,” Alex said. “If we get on her nerves too much, we’ll just sing ‘I Want You Back’ until she forgives us.”

“Speaking of her being mad,” Luke said, checking his watch, “we’d better head back. It’s already 10, and she’ll get worried soon.”

Willie nodded. “I have to head back too. I’ll see you guys tomorrow?” The boys agreed, and Alex planted a kiss on Willie’s cheek before he poofed out. Luke and Alex left too, leaving only Reggie.

“My offer still stands, ya know,” Reggie said. “If you ever wanna come by, please do.”

“Sure. Hopefully, I’ll see you soon.”

Reggie smiled before poofing out, and a second too late, Nick realized he was still wearing Reggie’s flannel. He burrowed himself inside, swinging his legs and gazing out into the ocean.

“‘Hopefully, I’ll see you soon.’ Don’t be an idiot, Nick,” he muttered to himself. But nothing could ruin the joy he felt as he thought about the night. The time he’d spent with the guys, and especially Reggie, had improved his mood from the entire week. He seriously dreaded going back home, so he sat there for a while just by himself, inhaling the scent of Reggie from the flannel and thinking about how his afterlife might not be so terrible, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for the support on chapter one! I'm super excited to continue this. I don't have set days for posting chapters yet, but keep an eye out! Next chapter will be from a surprise POV.


	3. Flynn

Flynn grabbed her lunchbox out of her locker before slamming it shut and heading to the music room, where she knew Julie would be hiding. In the week since Nick’s funeral, she’d found Julie hiding in the same spots she used to spend time with Nick in, avoiding eating and even talking to her other friends. Flynn hated being back in this situation. Julie had finally gotten her life back, only to have it dunked on by Caleb twice. She swore to herself if she ever saw that horrible ghost she’d remind him what dying felt like.

Flynn reached the music room and knocked on the door before pushing it open. “I know you’re in here, troublemaker. Don’t make me drag you out aga-“ Flynn stopped speaking abruptly when she realized the person inside was not, in fact, Julie. Instead, Carrie was sitting on a chair in the back, her face in her hands. Realizing she’d been discovered, she quickly wiped her face and stood up, straightening her dress.

“Carrie. I’m so sorry. I thought Julie was in here, and I was just coming to get her, and... ” Flynn trailed off, unsure of what to say next. “Are you alright?”

Carrie let out her typical popular girl smile, the one Flynn realized was fake. “Totally great. I was just checking on some things for Mrs. Harrison.”

Carrie was obviously lying, but Flynn didn’t know if she should ignore the comment or not - she wasn’t sure if Carrie actually wanted to talk about it. Flynn remembered fondly the three of them being inseparable in middle school, until Carrie’s mom walked out and everything had changed, and she missed the bond they’d had.

“I’m done, though,” Carrie clarified, grabbing her things, but Flynn decided to say something and keep Carrie from leaving just yet. 

“Hey, it’s okay if you’re not okay.” Flynn stepped inside and let the door shut behind her, causing Carrie to stop in her tracks and look at her. “It’s been hard on all of us. I can’t even imagine what it’s like for you. You guys were so close.”

Carrie looked away like she was embarrassed. “You don’t have to lie to me. I know he thought I was horrible. I probably deserved it, considering the way we broke up.”

“You didn’t,” Flynn said, and she meant it. She remembered being shocked at Carrie’s growth after the breakup. She had distanced herself from her mean girl clique, causing Dirty Candy to be dismantled. And ever since Julie’s performance at the Orpheum, she’d been way nicer to the two besties. She’d apologized for lashing out at Julie and Flynn for so long, and it was nice to see the girl now smile at them in the hallways instead of glaring. Flynn knew Carrie had it in her to be a better person, and she wished Nick’s death didn’t weigh down on her so much when it clearly wasn’t her fault like she thought it was.

Flynn sat down on a chair a couple seats down from Carrie. “You’re being too hard on yourself. I saw him at every single performance of yours. Even the one at the café, when you thought he wasn’t there.”

Carrie was surprised. “He never said anything to me.”

Flynn shrugged. “I don’t know why. But whether or not you guys were dating, he was always going to support you.” She honestly thought what she was saying was going to help, but Carrie looked even more crushed.

“I-I never got the chance to tell him that I was sorry,” Carrie said quietly. “Or tell him how talented he was, or anything. I always thought I’d have more time.”

“You can’t possibly blame yourself for that,” Flynn argued. She was about to say more when the door to the music room burst open and Julie walked in. “Flynn, what’s the holdup? The one time I’m actually waiting outside the cafeteria... “ She trailed off upon noticing Carrie, and eyed Flynn as if to say, _what are you doing_?

Carrie, who had regained her composure faster than when Flynn had barged in, spoke quickly. “Flynn was just helping me get ready for the next class.”

“That I was!” Flynn responded. She gave Julie her I’ll-explain-later look before standing up and heading out. She considered offering Carrie to join them for lunch, but decided against it. The girl probably just needed space to herself. So instead, she just smiled at her and left.

.

Flynn didn’t get a chance to explain what had happened until her and Julie were walking home from school.

“So I walked in and there she was, sobbing. I couldn’t leave her alone like that!” she exclaimed.

“I’m glad you didn’t,” Julie responded. “I wanted to approach her during the funeral, but I didn’t even know what to say. ‘Sorry I got your ex-boyfriend possessed and killed?’ I would’ve sounded stupid.”

“Hey. For the millionth time, it wasn’t your fault. You didn’t know. None of us did.” Julie nodded, but Flynn knew she didn’t agree. Still, Flynn wasn’t going to push it. The last thing she wanted was for Julie to shut everyone out again. The best thing to do was let time do the trick.

“Anyways, I tried my best. But she still seemed so broken up. I just wish we could tell her what really happened or something. Maybe she’d get closure.”

“You know that’s a terrible idea. Especially considering her dad knows the guys. We’re just lucky he hasn’t said anything about the Orpheum performance.”

Flynn remembered running into Trevor at the end of that night. He’d looked shell-shocked, the complete opposite of the friendly man she remembered idolizing growing up. But surprisingly, he hadn’t mentioned anything to her or Julie, who’d both politely said hello before rushing out. And he clearly hadn’t spoken to his daughter about it, or Carrie would’ve confronted them ages ago.

“I don’t know. I think we could trust her,” Flynn argued.

“Wow, Flynn defending Carrie? Someone buy me a lottery ticket.” 

Flynn laughed. “Hey. She’s changed a lot. Besides, she reminds me of...well, you.”

Julie looked surprised. “What do you mean by that?”

“Well, when your mom died, you did kind of cut everyone off,” Flynn commented. “And Carrie barely has any friends anymore, since she basically got rid of all of them. Anyone that talks to her does so out of pity.”

Julie didn’t respond for a while, but finally she nodded. “You’re right.”

“I know she wasn’t exactly understanding about you struggling to perform for a whole year,” Flynn said. “And her behavior now doesn’t excuse that. But she’s going through the same thing, I can just tell. And I’m sure it’s especially hard since she doesn’t have a fabulous best friend like you do.”

Julie laughed. “Alright, so what’s your plan?”

Flynn raised an eyebrow. “Plan? What makes you think I already have a plan.”

“Flynn, I know you like I know myself,” Julie said. “You didn’t give up on me for a whole year when I couldn’t play music, and almost every day you were trying something new. You’re not about to give up on Carrie, so I’m going to help.”

Flynn grinned. Maybe, just maybe, if she could get Carrie to open up to them again, things would get better for both of her friends. “Alright, so here’s my idea so far.”

.

The next day at lunch, the girls set their plan into motion. It was Flynn’s job to distract Carrie while Julie set up the music room (with Mrs. Harrison’s approval, of course; despite Julie’s talent, she’d still gotten detention after the spirit assembly gig), so she practically ran to Carrie’s locker.

Flynn leaned against the locker next to Carrie’s and waited for the girl to shut hers. “Hey!” she said, causing Carrie to jump.

“What on earth? Flynn, what are you doing?” Carrie asked. She didn’t seem mad, though, only confused, so Flynn continued.

“Just checking up on you,” Flynn commented. “How are you holding up?”

Carrie looked at Flynn weirdly. “I’m…alright, I guess. Why are you so cheery?”

“It’s a beautiful day!” Flynn gave Carrie a big grin, choosing to ignore the fact that Carrie didn’t smile back.

“Oookay.” Carrie adjusted her bag and turned to walk off.

Flynn, who was significantly shorter than her, rushed to keep up. “Hey, wait!” Carrie didn’t respond, but her pace slowed, and Flynn, grateful, walked next to her. “Where ya goin’?”

“The courtyard,” Carrie responded. “I like to eat there sometimes.”

“Cool! I’ll join you.” The two reached the enclosed outdoor space and Carrie sat down under a tree, Flynn joining her on the ground.

“Are you going to eat?” Carrie asked, taking out food, but Flynn just shook her head.

“Nah, I’m not hungry. I had a pizza party in Algebra because we all aced our tests, and Mr. Jenkins surprised us with candy, too, and you know how I am with sugar so I ate like six Twix before Kevin had to physically remove the candy bag from my desk…” Flynn kept rambling, but Carrie didn’t seem to mind. It reminded her of their middle school friendship, when Flynn would have a bad day and end up at Carrie’s house just to rant, and Carrie would only interrupt to ask what flavor of Fanta she wanted.

After about ten minutes, Flynn’s phone buzzed, and she realized Julie was ready. So Flynn stood up, brushed herself off, and held out a hand to Carrie. “C’mon. There’s something I gotta show you.”

Carrie looked confused, but she put her sandwich away and took Flynn’s hand, standing up. “What are you planning?” Carrie asked, suspicious, but Flynn only gave her a grin before dragging her off to the music room.

“Wait right here,” Flynn instructed, before entering the room and quickly shutting the door behind her. She dropped her bag on a chair in the back and put on a neon blue wig Julie handed her, as well as a sequined jacket with fringe - Julie was already dressed in a matching purple look. Flynn and Julie made sure all the decorations were in place before Flynn stuck her head through the door and informed Carrie she could come inside.

The minute Carrie stepped in, Julie pressed play on the speaker system, and one of Flynn’s funky beats started playing. Julie gave Carrie a quick smile and wave before her and Flynn started singing.

“The sky is blue, hey!  
The grass is green  
The sun is yellow,  
And I’m the queen!”

Julie and Flynn sang and did an awfully choreographed dance number, Flynn trying not to cringe as she recalled the three girls writing Dirty Candy’s very first song in 4th grade. When Flynn proposed to Julie that they perform it for Carrie, she hadn’t remembered how bad it was. But still, Flynn didn’t regret a thing, and she was happy to see Carrie bobbing her head along.

When they finished, the two bowed, and Carrie clapped politely. “What did you think?” Flynn asked.

Carrie tried not to laugh as she responded. “You guys aren’t very good at coming up with dance moves, are you?”

Julie shook her head. “Nah, that was always your thing.”

“I guess I’ll have to teach you, then.” Carrie stepped in between the two girls, spontaneously coming up with moves and teaching them how to step. The three of them spent the rest of the lunch period this way, and seeing both Carrie and Julie happy to spend time with each other warmed Flynn’s heart.

Unfortunately, all things had to come to an end. The bell to end lunch rang, and Julie, who had a test in Chemistry, rushed off quickly. Flynn and Carrie remained to clean up before heading off to their next respective classes.

“Thank you for that, really,” Carrie said. “You didn’t have to do anything.”

“Of course we did,” Flynn responded. “We spent way too long being at each other’s throats. I thought it was high time all that changed.”

Carrie took a deep breath. “Again, I’m sorry about-“

Flynn cut her off. “No need. You’ve apologized a million times already.”

“Then tell me what I can do to make it up to you,” Carrie said, and Flynn felt like her heart skipped a beat when Carrie looked at her.

Flynn winked at Carrie. “Take me on a date.” She swore she saw Carrie blush, but the girl turned around too fast for Flynn to tell.

Yet as they were heading out of the music room and Flynn turned to head off in another direction, Carrie called out, “You’ve got a deal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	4. Reggie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> content warnings for this chapter: brief alcohol mention, brief abuse mention

The morning after the guys had gone to the boardwalk, Reggie sat alone on the couch in their studio, strumming mindlessly on his guitar. He couldn’t stop thinking about the time they’d all spent together. He told himself it was because he loved hanging with his best friends, but every time he thought he’d convinced himself, he remembered Nick’s flushed face when he laughed or his sparkling grin and he got flustered all over again.

Reggie was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t notice Luke and Alex pop in. “Ready to rehearse?” Luke asked.

It took Reggie a minute to react. “Yeah, sure.”

Alex grinned. “Thinking about your new boyfriend?”

“Wh-what?” Reggie, shocked by Alex’s sudden question, tripped on his guitar chord and fell straight onto his amp. He stood up and brushed himself off, only to face Alex and Luke and see that they were (metaphorically) dying of laughter. “Hey!”

Luke reached out to Reggie and swung an arm around his neck. “He definitely has a crush on Nick.”

Reggie squeezed himself out of Luke’s grasp. “You’re being dramatic. We were all having fun!”

“Uh-huh. Having fun giving Nick the googly eyes,” Alex countered.

Reggie pouted. “You guys are mean.”

“Hey, we’re happy for you,” Luke said, ruffling Reggie’s hair. “You’re just easy to…what’s the word Julie used the other day?”

“Roast,” Alex answered. “He’s very easy to roast.”

“You guys are getting ahead of yourselves,” Reggie argued. “I was just helping cheer him up. He was so depressed that day at the funeral that I wanted to do something nice, you know?”

Mentioning the funeral killed the mood almost immediately. An awkward silence filled the room, the guys too nervous to say anything.

“Have you told Julie about him?” Alex finally asked. “I’m sure she’d want to know. And since she can see other ghosts, maybe she can see him, too.”

Reggie shook his head. “We tried, at the cemetery. She couldn’t see him. And he asked me not to say anything about it.”

“Maybe he just needs some time,” Luke said. “You know, to adjust. We’ll all tell Julie when he’s ready.”

“Hiding a secret that big? I don’t know…” Alex argued. “Besides, Reggie’s terrible at keeping secrets. Remember your ‘surprise’ 16th birthday party?”

“Hey, I said I was sorry!” Reggie exclaimed. “Besides, everything turned out fine. I fixed the hole in the wall!”

Alex gave Luke a pointed look, but Luke countered, “I have faith in Reggie. Besides, Nick trusts him. I wouldn’t want to ruin that.”

Just then, Willie entered the garage, his arm around Nick. “Look who I found outside!”

Nick gave a little wave. “Hello. Just thought I’d drop by and return this.” He held out Reggie’s flannel, and Reggie realized he hadn’t gotten it back from Nick last night.

“Thanks,” Reggie said, taking it back and tying it around his waist.

Luke glanced back and forth between Nick and Reggie and smirked. “Hey Nick, why don’t you stick around?” he suggested. “We’re gonna rehearse and we could use your thoughts on some stuff. I know Julie mentioned you shred on the guitar.”

“Uh, sure, I could do that.” Nick headed to the couch and sat down, and Willie gave Alex a quick kiss before joining him.

For some reason, Reggie was extremely flustered. He’d never been one to have stage fright - he always enjoyed letting his music do the talking - but with Nick around, he felt an unexpected pressure to do well. So when Alex opened up their first song, Reggie missed his cue entirely and came in two measures too late.

“Wrong spot, dude,” Luke said, and Alex started over, but Reggie missed again. He felt like smacking his head against the wall.

“Hey, you got this,” Nick said confidently. “I know you can rock it.”

Reggie nodded, took a deep breath, and glanced at Alex, signaling he was ready. This time, he hit the entrance perfectly and grinned, getting into the music. Luke came in with the melody, and Reggie hit the harmony perfectly.

“Yeah!” Willie yelled, and Reggie noticed him and Nick on their feet, jamming out to the song.

They rehearsed like that for a while, going through some newer songs written by Julie and Luke and improvising where they could to make up for their missing lead singer, who was off at school. When they transitioned to an older Sunset Curve song and Nick mentioned how familiar it sounded, Willie explained the Trevor Wilson situation to him. The blonde boy looked confused, but he didn’t say anything else, and so the band kept rehearsing.

Somehow the hours flew by, and the boys shifted from a focused rehearsal to a more chill jam session. Alex was showing Willie how to play the drums, and Luke was practicing improvising rifts. Reggie noticed Nick leaning against the wall and motioned for him to come over.

“Have you ever played the bass?” Reggie asked, and the boy shook his head.

“How hard is it compared to a regular electric? I’m sure I could pick it up,” Nick said.

“It’s super easy once you get the hang of it.” Reggie took his guitar off his shoulder and handed it to Nick. “Here, why don’t you try?”

Nick swung the guitar strap across his head and placed his hand on the fingerboard. “Like this?”

“Yeah, you almost got it!” Reggie moved to stand behind Nick and guided his hand a little bit. “There we go. Now try this chord progression.” Reggie lead Nick’s hand to a D chord, then C, then back to D, and sang along as Nick strummed.

“It’s gettin' near dawn  
When lights close their tired eyes  
I’ll soon be with you, my love  
To give you my dawn surprise.”

Reggie moved Nick’s hand to G, F, then back to G.

“I’ll be with you, darling, soon,  
I’ll be with you when the stars start falling.”

Nick turned his head to look at Reggie. “Sunshine of Your Love! I love this song.”

“Yeah!” Reggie exclaimed. “It’s one of my favorites, and it’s real easy to learn if you simplify it a bit.”

Nick smiled. “Teach me more,” he said, and so Reggie reached around Nick again and continued the song, both of them singing along. When they finished, they stared at each other for a long moment before lowering their hands. Reggie longed to hold onto Nick again, but out of the corner of his eye he noticed Luke, Alex, and Willie all watching the two intensely.

Reggie, suddenly all too aware of how close him and Nick were, moved back. “That was, uh, pretty good!” Was it just his imagination, or did Nick look disappointed when Reggie stepped away?

Either way, the hesitation only lasted a split second before Nick took Reggie’s guitar off and handed it to him. “Thanks. I learned from the best.”

On the other side of the room, Alex cleared his throat. “Anyways, Willie and I have a date. We’re gonna go check out a band that’s playing in town.”

Luke glanced at Alex and seemed to pick up on something Reggie missed. “Oh yeah! I forgot I, uh, had plans. With Julie! After school,” he said quickly.

Reggie, clueless, simply looked back and forth at the guys and nodded. “Okay! Have fun then!”

Willie almost looked as if he was going to say something too, but Alex grabbed his hand and poofed them out, and Luke quickly followed.

“So...it’s just me and you again,” Nick said, taking a seat on the couch.

“Yup,” Reggie responded, setting his guitar on his stand and unplugging the amp before sitting down next to Nick.

“I was thinking about the other day,” Nick started, and Reggie felt his face getting surprisingly warm for a ghost. Nick had been thinking about the night at the fair, too?

“At the funeral. I realized why you were so upset.”

Reggie let out a breath. “Oh, yeah. That. Well, I-“

“It’s okay. You don’t have to explain it to me,” Nick rushed to say. “I get it. I mean, if I suddenly found out I’d been dead for 25 years and had no way of contacting my family...”

Reggie was caught off-guard. He didn’t realize how perceptive Nick was, considering he’d only mentioned his family in passing that day. “I don’t even know where they are anymore. My old house was turned into a bike shack,” he responded.

“I’m so sorry,” Nick said quietly.

Reggie looked down, fidgeting with his necklace. “I had a little brother too, although I’m not sure he’s that little anymore. They all have lives that haven’t included me in 25 years. How can I ruin that by intruding on them?” But it wasn’t just that. He was scared of seeing how his family had turned out. Reggie knew they’d been emotionally falling apart when he’d died.

“Hey, you’re not intruding,” Nick stated. “You cared about them, and they cared about you, right?” Reggie nodded. Despite the chaotic environment of his household, he knew his parents had still loved him. And his brother had always been so proud of him for pursuing music. “Then you have to find them. You just need some closure, and I’m sure they could use some too.”

Reggie looked at Nick. “Aren’t you the one that just died? I feel like I should be comforting you.”

“Helping you is comforting to me,” Nick blurted out. “Uh, I mean, I like helping people. And I think finding your family is something you should do, if you really want to.”

“That’s a great idea and all, but I don’t even know where to start,” Reggie said. “I couldn’t find a single Yellow Pages in Julie’s house, and I was too anxious to ask for her help anyways.”

Nick laughed. “Yellow Pages? Dude, it’s 2020. There’s Facebook.” Reggie must’ve looked confused, so Nick elaborated. “Did Julie not give you the rundown of social media?”

“Oh, she did. I kind of lost her at...what’s it called again? The one with the pictures and the liking. It’s all very confusing.”

“Facebook is basically a platform where you can find people quickly on the Internet. Think of it as an online Yellow Pages. You got a laptop in here?”

Reggie nodded and got up, grabbing Carlos’ laptop from the loft and bringing it down. Ever since the kid had found out about Julie’s ghost band, he’d left the device in the studio, claiming he preferred his iPad anyways.

Nick took the laptop from Reggie and opened it while Reggie sat down next to him. “What’s your dad’s name?” Nick asked him, and Reggie spelled it out. He watched Nick type it up, and on screen, a bunch of pictures popped up. “Let me know when you see the right guy.” Reggie nodded, and Nick went through the list.

After about a minute, Reggie saw a familiar face go by and felt a jolt in his chest. “Wait, stop. Go back.” Nick scrolled up, and Reggie pointed. “There. That’s my dad.”

Nick clicked on the profile and read it briefly. “He still lives in the area,” he read from the page. “Apparently, he got remarried.”

Reggie cringed, despite knowing a divorce had been inevitable. He glanced at the address and realized the street name was familiar - it was near a café the band had performed at a few times.

“You still want to go see him, right?” Nick asked, and Reggie felt queasy, which was weird considering he didn’t have a stomach.

“I don’t know...it’s been so long. I mean, what if he forgot about me?” Reggie knew that was all too likely, considering his dad’s drinking problem.

“There’s only one way to find out.” Nick held out his hand, and Reggie stared at it for a moment before grabbing it. “Let’s go see your family.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I've decided No Regrets will have 12 chapters in total, and I'll be uploading every Tuesday and Thursday until it's complete.


	5. Nick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> content warnings for this chapter: abuse mentions, alcohol mentions, homophobia mention

Nick held on tight to Reggie’s hand and concentrated on the home he’d seen on Reggie’s dad’s Facebook page. He’d never poofed anywhere unknown before, so he hoped it worked.

Sure enough, after a moment the two boys had landed, and Nick opened his eyes outside a quaint, two-story home with a wraparound porch and a minivan sitting on the driveway. Nick turned to Reggie, who was still squeezing his hand tight.

“You good?” Nick asked.

Reggie hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Yeah.”

“Do you want me to come inside with you?” Nick asked. He realized Reggie would probably want some privacy doing this. “I can wait out here, or head back, or...”

“I don’t want to do this alone,” Reggie responded, looking at Nick desperately.

“Okay. Then I’ll be here the whole time.” Nick gave Reggie a confident smile before the two headed to the front door. They both paused for a minute, wondering if they should knock or simply walk through, when the door opened. A tall man in his mid-30s stood in the doorway, grabbing a key off a hook by the door before stepping out.

“I’ll be back at 10 to pick her up!” the man called to someone inside the house, before locking the door behind him and heading to the car.

“That...that’s Mikey! My brother,” Reggie explained.

“That’s great! It means your family’s still together,” Nick said, but Reggie looked more shocked than anything else. The two watched Reggie’s brother pull out of the driveway and head down the road, disappearing from sight. When he was gone, Reggie turned back to the door and took a deep breath before going inside, pulling Nick with him.

The room on the right was closed, so Nick turned to his left. The space was a family room with a fireplace, a comfy leather couch set, and a grand piano resting by the window. Nobody was inside, so Reggie and Nick went in to explore.

Nick headed to the fireplace and peered at the mantle. On top sat two photographs, as well as a framed card reading ‘Congrats on Your Many Years Sober!’ and a Sunset Curve CD. Staring at the pictures, Nick realized one was Reggie and the other was an older woman who had the same facial features as him.

“Is this your mom?” Nick asked while holding up the photo to Reggie, who’d been messing around with the music sitting on the piano.

Reggie turned to look at it. “Yeah, that’s her,” he replied. Nick decided against commenting that her picture was probably sitting next to Reggie’s for a reason. Instead, he set it back down and picked up the Sunset Curve CD, reading the songs listed on the back. He couldn’t believe Trevor Wilson had been part of Reggie’s band in the 90s. Nick had known Carrie and her dad for almost forever, and he’d never mentioned being in a band before his solo career.

Just then, a little girl entered the room, dragging an older woman with her. “I’m ready!” the little girl stated, and the woman laughed before sitting down at the piano and motioning for the girl to sit next to her. Reggie jumped back in shock, almost knocking down the lamp behind him, but luckily only Nick had noticed.

“Now, hands here,” the woman instructed, guiding the girl’s hands to the keys, and the kid nodded, adjusting her fingers accordingly. She pressed down, playing a C chord, and looked immensely proud of herself.

“I did it!” the girl exclaimed, giving the elderly woman a huge, toothless smile.

“You sure did, Anna!”

They continued like that for a while, Anna learning notes and Reggie looking confused. Nick had come over to stand beside him, and he hadn’t realized when Reggie’d started holding his hand again.

After a few more minutes, an elderly man entered the room, and Nick could feel Reggie tense up. When the man leaned down next to Anna, Reggie opened his mouth to say something, yet he was interrupted by the man speaking.

“You’re doing great, Anna! At this rate, you’ll be able to surprise your mom with a performance when she comes back from her work trip.”

The little girl looked ecstatic, and she reached around and hugged the man. “Thanks, gramps!”

He ruffled Anna’s hair before picking her up and swinging her around, and she burst into giggles. When the man set her down, he said, “Unfortunately, it’s homework time now.”

“Aw, alright,” Anna said sadly. The man took her hand and led her into the next room, the woman following the two.

Nick turned to Reggie to see him still staring at the space the family had been in moments before. He looked like he was in shock, and Nick was seriously concerned.

“What’s wrong? That was your dad, right?” Nick asked, referring to the old man.

Reggie swallowed and nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, that was him. I...” He suddenly let go of Nick’s hand. “I need to get out of here.”

Nick was going to suggest the two of them head back to the studio, but Reggie disappeared before he could say anything, shocking him.

“Great. You tried making him feel better and you made everything worse,” Nick muttered, scolding himself. He wished he hadn’t pressured Reggie so much, but it seemed like the boy had genuinely been curious. So what happened?

.

A quick search proved Reggie wasn’t outside, or anywhere near the house at all, so Nick returned to the studio. When Reggie wasn’t there, either, Nick begun panicking, a sinking feeling building in his stomach. He had no idea what kind of trouble a ghost could get into, and he didn’t want to find out.

Nick poofed into a couple of places, including Julie’s house (he crashed into the wall next to Carlos, but luckily the kid didn’t notice), the school (it was empty since it was already 5 in the afternoon), and Hollywood Boulevard (he doubted Reggie was there, but it was worth a shot). Finally, he headed to the beach where Nick had hung out with Reggie and the boys and trudged through the sand in search of the missing ghost.

After what felt like forever, he spotted Reggie sitting on a log in the distance and ran over to him. Before Nick could say anything, though, Reggie spoke. “I’m so sorry. I had to get out of there.” He looked down, kicking the sand. “I hope you weren’t too worried.”

“Of course I was,” Nick said, sitting down next to Reggie. “But I’m glad I found you.”

Reggie didn’t say anything, but he didn’t leave either, and Nick took that as a good sign. “Do you want to talk about it?” he asked gently.

There was a long moment of silence, where Nick thought Reggie might just ignore the question entirely, but then the boy spoke up. “Growing up with my dad sucked. I mean, I knew it could’ve been worse. Did you know Alex’s parents were homophobic? They were so angry when he came out to them that he hid in the studio for a week.” Reggie let out a sad laugh.

“But it was still bad. My dad would drink almost every day and come home completely wasted. He never, ever touched us. But the screaming would last until 2 AM. He’d say to my mom, ‘You’re not raising the kids right,’ or ‘They should have had real jobs by now.’ And he’d go on and on until he passed out, usually on the couch.” Reggie paused, taking a shaky breath before continuing. “My mom did the best she could, but she worked practically ten hours a day. It’s not like my brother and I saw her a lot. So he’d hang out with his friends until late, and I’d practice with the guys until I absolutely had to leave, and that was the only way we knew how to live our lives.

“The worst days were the days my dad was sober. Because then he’d get my brother and I to skip school, and we’d go to the zoo or something, and I knew he had it in him to be a good person. Someone who truly loved his family. It was just that nothing my brother and I ever did would be able to break through his terrible habits.” That was when Reggie broke down crying, and Nick gently placed his hand on the boy’s back, rubbing it.

“Why? Why couldn’t he have been better for me? Did I not deserve it?” Reggie asked through tears. “Was I not a good enough kid? Maybe that little girl is better than I was. Maybe I was just a nuisance and my dad hated putting up with me and that’s why he couldn’t handle being sober back then.”

“That’s not true, and you know it,” Nick said softly. “I’ve been around the guys long enough to know they love you like family. They’d do anything for you. If you didn’t deserve that kind of love, you never would’ve found it for yourself.” Nick put his hand on Reggie’s face and turned it so that they were looking each other in the eye. “Don’t you ever tell yourself you’re not good enough. You’re talented, and funny, and kind, and you are not responsible for the decisions your dad made.”

Reggie nodded, still crying, before pulling Nick into a hug, holding on as if the blonde boy would disappear if he let go. Nick held on just as tightly, and they sat like that for a while until Nick felt Reggie’s breathing even out.

“I think I got your jacket wet,” Reggie mumbled, pulling away, and Nick noticed a tear stain on the varsity patch.

“Eh, I doubt ghost tears are that harmful to polyesters,” Nick responded, and Reggie gave him a small smile. Nick reached up and wiped the tears off Reggie’s face.

“I can’t begin to imagine how hard it must’ve been for you, growing up,” Nick spoke. “But you don’t have to deal with that anymore. And isn’t it a good thing that your dad’s sober? I know he couldn’t be the person you wanted him to be, and you don’t have to forgive him for that. But at least now he can be there for someone who needs him.”

“My niece, apparently,” Reggie said. “And she was learning to play the piano of all things.”

“You seem surprised by that,” Nick responded.

“Yeah. I mean, when I told my dad I wanted to be in the band full-time, he freaked out a lot. I’m surprised he even had a piano in the house in the first place.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Reggie looked confused at this, so Nick explained the situation. “Dude, your picture was sitting on the mantle next to a Sunset Curve CD.”

Reggie shrugged. “So he finally listened to our demo. That doesn’t explain much.”

“Dude, you’re the reason your dad changed his mind about music,” Nick concluded. “He must’ve regretted not caring enough about your band.”

Reggie opened his mouth, but shut it again, clearly at a loss for words. “You’re joking,” he finally said.

“Absolutely not. It makes perfect sense. Besides, you are pretty inspiring.”

The two settled into a comfortable silence after that, Nick giving Reggie space to come to terms with how he’d unknowingly helped his family. The two watched the sun set over the ocean for the second day in a row, their heads stacked against each other. Nick was reminded of that day in the cemetery when they’d first met, and how Reggie had worked so hard to cheer him up. He hoped he’d been able to do the same.

“Thank you,” Reggie said, breaking the silence. Nick shifted his position to look at him, and Reggie continued. “For being there for me. You didn’t have to help me find my dad, or come with me, or even search for me here on the beach, but you did.”

Nick smiled at the boy, and when he smiled back, Nick responded, “Anything for you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	6. Carrie

Carrie was sitting at the counter in her home kitchen, watching Julie’s ‘Edge of Great’ music video for the first time since the day she’d seen the band perform live at the Orpheum. It had managed to surpass a million views in the time since it was first posted, and Carrie was truly impressed. She remembered being in Julie’s backyard as they performed live and focusing more on the girl’s behavior than the song itself, and she’d regretted it ever since.

This led her into thinking about a couple days before, when Flynn and Julie had worked so hard to cheer her up by singing and dancing for her. Carrie still felt like she didn’t deserve it. After everything the three friends had been through, and with Nick’s death on top of it all, Carrie was convinced that karma was going to come for her. She forcibly shook the thought from her head. She wasn’t going to focus on the negatives, because it would only make her feel worse.

Just then, Carrie heard her dad enter the house. Like usual, she assumed he’d head straight upstairs without saying anything. Ever since he’d seen Julie’s band live, he’d been acting distant, and Carrie hated to see it. He was supposed to be the rock of the family - when Carrie’s mom had left, he’d been the strong one for them. But now it was like seeing a side of him she’d never known.

To Carrie’s surprise, however, her dad entered the kitchen. “Mind if I join you?” he asked, and Carrie nodded, clearing her stuff off from the stool next to her so he could sit. For a while he didn’t say anything, and Carrie wasn’t sure which was worse - his silence, or the possibility that he’d start asking about Nick.

Instead, he said, “When I was your age, I lost my three best friends.” He looked like he was a million miles away, lost in the memories of his youth. “Food poisoning, all three of them, from bad street food. What a weird way to go, right? It was completely unexpected.”

Unexpected. Carrie knew that feeling all too well, when all of a sudden the tides changed and everything you thought could never happen played out in front of you. 

“I didn’t have anyone to talk to at the time, and it was horrible. I felt trapped, like I was being suffocated, and I’d often go on mile-long runs just to feel like I could escape it all.” Her dad turned to look Carrie in the eye. “I never meant to make you feel the same way.”

“It-it’s alright. I’m sure this is all too familiar for you,” Carrie responded, fidgeting with her pencil. 

“That doesn’t excuse not being there for my daughter.” Carrie’s dad wrapped his arms around her, giving her a tight hug, and Carrie didn’t realize how much she’d needed that until it just then.

“I won’t force you to open up right now if you don’t want to,” her dad said, pulling away. “But I’m always here for you. You’re my number one priority. And hey, if you’re not comfortable talking to me, we can always find a good therapist.”

Carrie, unable to form a response, simply nodded. Her dad kissed her on the head, like he used to when she was little, before heading upstairs. She thought she might start crying, but she pushed the negative thoughts from her mind and instead chose to feel relieved, knowing that despite all of the choices that had led her to this path, she still had people who would support her no matter what.

Just then, Carrie heard the doorbell ring. “I got it!” she yelled, figuring it was Nick’s parents bringing Emma over. It was earlier than they’d agreed on, but Carrie didn’t mind. The little girl was one of the newest bright spots in her life.

However, when Carrie opened the door, she received another shock. “Flynn? What are you doing here?”

The spunky girl was standing on her doorstep, hand on her hips. “I’m holding you up on your offer, duh!” she said. When Carrie didn’t respond, Flynn elaborated. “Our ‘date?’” She made air quotes around the word date, and yet Carrie still felt her face heating. She quickly coughed into her elbow.

“Right. Uh, I wish I could, but...” Carrie trailed off when Flynn’s face fell. “Not that I don’t want to hang out with you,” she rushed to correct. “But I can’t go anywhere. I have to babysit Nick’s little sister, Emma.”

“Well, then I’ll join you!” Flynn exclaimed, making her way into the house. It was just like her to force herself in, and it made Carrie laugh.

“Have you ever even babysat before?” Carrie asked. “And before you say Carlos, he doesn’t count. Julie was always the responsible one.”

“Okay, you got me.” Flynn set her backpack down by the door and took off her shoes. “But how hard can it be if you do it?”

Carrie rolled her eyes playfully. “Very hard, actually. Want anything to eat? It’s still gonna be a while before she gets here.”

When Flynn nodded, she put together a quick snack for the two, and they sat down to eat, talking about the chemistry test and what the best way to study was. After an hour, the doorbell rang again, and Carrie opened the door to welcome Emma inside. She was surprised at how quickly the time flew by when she was with Flynn.

Emma gave her a big hug. “Carrie!” she exlaimed, and Carrie hugged her back.

“Thank you so much for doing this,” Nick’s mom said. “I’ll be back to pick her up at ten.”

“No problem!” Carrie replied. She lead Emma inside and introduced her to Flynn, who the little girl immediately became attached to. The two of them helped Emma with her homework, played Just Dance, and eventually, when Emma was worn out, let her take a nap on the couch.

Carrie was surprised at how easy it was to spend time with Flynn. She thought the whole afternoon would be spent stressing about her conversation with her dad, or maybe getting distracted thinking about Nick, but with Flynn around, all those thoughts were pushed away. Instead, she recalled how Flynn tried not to show it but would count using her fingers, or how she knew all the words to Avril Lavigne’s _Girlfriend_ , belting the song while dancing, or how her whole face lit up when she smiled.

Carrie realized then that Flynn had asked her a question about the homework they were working on together, and she’d missed it. When Carrie looked confused, Flynn repeated herself.

“Are you alright?” Flynn asked after they’d worked out the problem.

“Yeah, I am,” Carrie said, but Flynn stared at her, unconvinced.

“I know your I-zoned-out face when I see it, Carrie Wilson. Tell me what’s up,” she demanded.

“I just…” Carrie wasn’t sure where to start. “A lot has happened today. Do you really want to hear about it?”

“Of course I do,” Flynn responded. “I told you, I’m here for you. I mean it.”

When Carrie opened her mouth, she expected herself to want to talk about all the bad things that had happened that day. How she’d been woken up early by a nightmare. How she kept seeing Nick in the hallways, only to turn around and find nobody there. How the conversation with her dad had played out. But it wasn’t what she wanted to focus on. So she took a deep breath and tried again.

So instead, she told Flynn everything she’d loved about the day. How she’d watched the sun rise over the city. How Julie had made her laugh out loud in Calculus, resulting in a glare from their teacher. How she’d agreed to babysit Emma last minute because the little girl’s charm always made her day. And how Flynn managed to bring out the best in her every time they hung out. Carrie almost thought Flynn had blushed at this, but the girl laughed it away, and instead brought up everything great about her day, too, sharing her own stories with Carrie.

Before long, it had gotten dark outside, and Carrie suggested Flynn stay for dinner. “Do you want Tex-Mex? The place around the corner has great guac,” Carrie suggested, but Flynn shook her head.

“Hell no. We’re doing peanut butter and marshmallow sandwiches. C’mon!” Flynn dragged Carrie to the kitchen, and Carrie remembered how they’d always make the strangest sandwiches when Flynn and Julie came to her house for sleepovers.

“Seriously? Isn’t that a little unhealthy?”

“That’s the point!”

Carrie sighed, giving in to Flynn’s demand, and helped the girl put the sandwiches together.

“Watch this,” Flynn instructed, tossing a marshmallow up in the air and opening her mouth. Unfortunately, it bounced off her face and landed on the floor.

“Good idea, but awful execution,” Carrie said, trying not to laugh too hard. “You do it like this.” She tossed one up in the air and managed to catch it in her mouth, which earned applause from Flynn.

“Okay, go long,” Flynn said. Carrie moved to the far end of the kitchen, opening her mouth, and Flynn tossed marshmallows, Carrie catching each of them.

“Too easy,” Carrie taunted.

“Oh, you want a challenge?” Flynn put the marshmallows away and scooped up some peanut butter. “Catch this, then!”

“No, wait!” Carrie exclaimed, but it was too late. There was peanut butter flying through the air, and Carrie’s last thoughts were that she didn’t know the sticky food could be launched so far before it landed on her face.

Flynn burst into laughter. “Oh man, I wish I got that on camera.”

“You are so dead,” Carrie said, glaring, and grabbed the nearest condiment she could find - ketchup. “Heads up!”

All of a sudden, they had moved into a full-on food fight. Carrie was surprised Emma hadn’t woken up yet, because the two girls were practically yelling, getting food everywhere and generally creating a mess in the previously spotless kitchen.

“Okay, okay, you win!” Flynn cried when Carrie cornered her with the mustard.

“That’s what I want to hear,” Carrie responded, smug. She set the mustard down and grabbed a few wet towels, helping Flynn get food out of her braids while Flynn wiped Carrie’s shirt.

When they had finally managed to get the bigger chunks of food cleaned off, Carrie put the towels down, and she realized how close Flynn was. The two were pushed up against each other and the kitchen counter, and Carrie could smell Flynn’s bubblegum perfume.

“It’s always chaos with you,” Carrie said, rolling her eyes, and Flynn laughed, bright and joyful and wonderful, sounding like music to Carrie’s ears.

And then Flynn’s phone went off, and the moment broke. It beeped eight times in a row before Flynn finally located it, scrambling to read the messages. Carrie watched as Flynn’s expression went from silly to shocked in seconds.

“What happened?” Carrie asked, concerned.

“I gotta go.” Flynn rushed to grab her things as fast as she could while typing with one hand. “I’m so sorry. Jules just texted me and…it’s an emergency.”

“Oh.” Carrie helped Flynn grab everything, handing the girl her sweater when she almost forgot it.

“Thanks. I, uh, I’ll call you?” Flynn asked.

“Sure. Whenever is fine,” Carrie said, and Flynn rushed out. Carrie closed the door behind her and leaned against it, taking deep breaths. The rush of adrenaline from their food-fight and subsequent conversation still hadn’t faded. She hoped that everything was okay with Julie - the girl had gone through enough in the past year already.

And secretly, Carrie hoped that Flynn would call her soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	7. Reggie

Over the last week, Nick had become a group regular. He was at almost every band rehearsal Luke, Alex, and Reggie put on when Julie was at school, and he joined the boys on their nightly trips out across town. Reggie was glad to be spending so much time with Nick, and it was nice watching Luke, Alex, and Willie warm up to him as well, despite their, well, rough history.

But at the same time, Reggie wanted more time alone with him, like when they’d gone to the fair. He wanted to hold Nick’s hand and walk down Hollywood Boulevard, and say something stupid that made him laugh, and lean in close, and…

Woah. Reggie was sitting alone in the studio, and he’d already made himself flustered. He’d never really thought about being into boys like that. Although there was that one time with Luke…so maybe Reggie was into boys? But he knew he was definitely into girls – he’d always been the most flirtatious Sunset Curve member when he was alive. He buried his face into his hands. Why did this have to be so confusing?

When Luke and Alex showed up to begin rehearsal, Reggie jumped up from the couch and got ready, trying his best to hide his thoughts. But his heart wasn’t in it, and when he kept messing up the song they had begun working on, the other boys realized this too.

Luke swung his guitar back and turned to face Reggie. “Hey man, you good?” he asked.

“Doin’ great,” Reggie mumbled, fidgeting with his necklace. He knew he doing a horrible job of being convincing, and judging from the looks on Alex and Luke’s faces, they thought so too. Reggie sighed, knowing they weren’t gonna let this go until he talked about it.

Reggie set his bass on his stand and collapsed on the couch. “Alex. When you…when you first met Willie, how did you feel?”

The drummer raised an eyebrow. “What’s this about?”

“Please just answer.”

“Alright. Well, I thought he was really cute, and someone I’d be into, you know?” Alex explained. “And when we started talking, things just clicked. Like we both could understand each other.”

“And when you talk to girls, you don’t feel that?” Reggie asked.

“Nope. Never have, never will,” Alex replied.

Reggie was quiet for a while, thinking. “What if I feel that way about boys and girls?” he finally asked.

“Dude. I thought when we teased you about Nick last time, you knew,” Luke said.  
Reggie thought back to that day last week, when the two had jokingly called Nick Reggie’s boyfriend. “You were serious about that?”

“My sweet, clueless Reginald,” Alex said, understanding dawning on him. He joined Reggie on the couch and wrapped an arm around him, pulling him close. “Finally discovering more about himself. It’s cute, really.”

Reggie was still confused. “Am I missing something? I still don’t understand.”

“Ah. Allow me to introduce you to the wide spectrum of sexualities you could identify as.” And so Alex and Luke explained as best as they could, mentioning terms like bisexual, pansexual, and asexual, all things Reggie had heard about but never considered. He knew that Alex was gay, and Luke was ace, and he was absolutely accepting of them when they’d come out to him, but Reggie never thought he’d fit into any of those categories himself.

“Bisexual. I...I like that,” Reggie decided after Alex and Luke had finished. “Yeah! I think I’m bisexual.”

“Hell yeah!” Alex cried, and wrapped Reggie in a hug, Luke joining them. Reggie was being squished, but he didn’t mind.

“Thank you,” Reggie said.

“Of course. I’m just glad that you had us to talk to about it, you know?” Luke responded.

When they all pulled away, Alex smiled and ruffled Reggie’s hair. “Ready to get back to rehearsing?” he asked, and Reggie nodded, grabbing his bass.

.

After the band’s practice session, Alex had plans with Willie, and Luke with Julie, and so Reggie was once again left alone in the studio. With nothing better to do, he decided to visit his favorite spot in the Molina household - the studio roof. He wasn’t sure what prompted him to go up there the first time, but he was drawn in immediately, finding himself comforted by the cool air and the night sky covered in sparkling stars.

Reggie poofed himself up there, his legs hanging off the edge, and leaned back to admire the night sky. It was comforting, he thought, to know that despite the sudden changes in his life, those lights would always be there, a constant glow above him.

He glanced down at the small garden in the Molina yard, illuminated by the moonlight, and that was when he spotted a familiar gleam of blonde hair. Nick caught Reggie’s eye as well, and when Reggie waved, Nick poofed himself up onto the roof next to him.

“What are you doing up up here?” Nick asked.

“Just chilling. It’s a nice view, you know,” Reggie commented. “You can see all the cool constellations.”

“Really? Like what?” Nick asked.

Reggie pointed. “That’s Pegasus, and that’s Aquarius, and that’s Andromeda.”

“Wow. I’m impressed.”

“I’m totally making that up. I have no idea what any of the constellations are.”

“Honestly, you could’ve fooled me.”

“Yeah, but I felt bad.”

Nick laughed uncontrollably at this, and the sound was so contagious that Reggie joined in. It took a while for them to eventually calm down, Reggie taking deep breaths to steady himself.

After a moment of silence, Nick asked, “Why do you think we’re like this? Like, stuck as ghosts.”

Reggie wasn’t sure what prompted the question, but he figured it was a good opportunity to share what Willie had told him and the boys a while back. “Well, every ghost has unfinished business. It’s usually unique to each person. Once you figure out what it is and finish it, you can basically pass on.” Nick looked sad at this last bit, so Reggie quickly added on, “You don’t have to, though. Not if you don’t want to.”

“Do you…do you think my unfinished business has to do with Julie?”

“Honestly? I don’t know,” Reggie responded.

“That…that’s why I came here, to be honest,” Nick said. “I thought I should maybe try talking to Julie. But I’m scared. I’m not like you, when you were terrified, but you still went to see your dad anyways.”

“Like me? I ran from there, if you remember.”

“You’re not giving yourself enough credit.”

Reggie was surprised. He’d never really thought of himself as brave - he was always the one hiding behind Luke and Alex, avoiding confrontation whenever possible. Then again, he’d learned a lot of new things about himself today. He thought back to that moment with his dad and realized his biggest fear was discovering that he hadn’t changed, and then it dawned on him why Nick was really so afraid.

“You’re scared that Caleb will try to hurt us again, and it’ll be your fault.”

“Yeah. It was-“ Nick’s voice broke, and he took a deep breath before continuing. “It was awful, him being in my head constantly. I barely remember most of it, but one thing that kept coming back was just this burning hatred.”

“Hey, you don’t have to talk about it.”

“I do, though.” Nick had a pained look on his face, but he forced himself to keep going. “He wanted to make Julie hurt, for whatever she’d done, and everything he did to get back at her felt like my fault. Like I’d let this happen. How am I supposed to face her and tell her all that? And explain that I couldn’t stop it?”

“When we talked about my dad, you reminded me of something,” Reggie said gently. “You reminded me that how my dad acted wasn’t my fault, because it was out of my control. The same thing goes for you and Caleb, you know.”

“I have a hard time believing that.”

“I know. And for some reason, that feeling will never really go away. But it’ll get smaller and smaller until it’s easier to manage, and eventually you’ll reach a point where your brain will say, ‘this is your fault,’ and you’ll immediately respond with, ‘no, that’s irrational.’

“You really believe that?”

“I do. And I believe that talking to Julie is the first step in the right direction.”

Nick still looked nervous, but Reggie could tell he wasn’t as scared, and he hoped that what he’d said Nick had taken to heart.

Eventually, the two boys had laid down on the roof, their shoulders touching. Reggie thought if he wasn’t a ghost, he’d have easily fallen asleep like this, with the warmth from Nick being more than enough to protect from the cold breeze. He turned to face the boy and noticed his eyes were closed, looking more peaceful than he had been before, and Reggie watched him for a long time like that.

Somehow the time passed quickly, and Reggie didn’t realize the sun had come up until it peeked out from behind the trees and blinded him. He sat up, stretching, and Nick did the same before the two poofed down to the studio.

“It’s Saturday, isn’t it? Which means Julie will be here soon to rehearse,” Nick said.

“Yeah,” Reggie responded. “You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.”

“No, I do. I thought about what you said and…you were right. I think it’s about time I revealed myself.”

It was the perfect timing for him to say so, because Julie walked into the studio at that moment. Luke was behind her, his eyes widening when he noticed Nick. Julie, on the other hand, hadn’t, which was why she asked Reggie, “Ready for the day?”

“Uh…” Reggie turned to Luke, making sideways glances at Nick to ask, _what do I do_?

Luke, as helpful as ever, shrugged, mouthing, _I don’t know_.

Reggie turned to Nick, who looked on the verge of panicking. He wasn’t sure what to say, so instead he held out his hand, and when Nick took it, he squeezed it comfortingly.

Julie looked confused. “What’s going on? Am I missing something here?” She turned to Luke, hands on her hips. “What are you planning?”

“Why do you always look at me? I didn’t do anything!” Luke exclaimed. When Julie glared at him, he added, “Okay, normally it is me. But this time it’s not! It’s, uh…”

“It’s me,” Nick said quietly, and Reggie noticed his form rippling, like he was trying to appear but couldn’t.

Julie seemed to notice this, because she looked confused. “Who is that?” she asked.

Nick closed his eyes to focus, taking a deep breath. “Nick,” he answered, and then he rippled again before, judging from the look on Julie’s face, he appeared to her.

And then she screamed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	8. Nick

Nick jumped in alarm when Julie started screaming, and Luke put his hands to his ears, cringing. Only Reggie seemed hold it together, yelling for Julie to stop.

Her screams died at this, but unfortunately she didn’t calm down in the slightest. She begun pacing, her hands on her head. “Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh, Nick’s a ghost. You’re a ghost!” she cried. “You died but you’re back but not really, and...I need to tell Flynn.” Before Nick could explain how bad of an idea that was, she was already sending rapid-fire messages to the girl.

“Uh, Julie. Maybe you should talk to him,” Luke suggested, placing a hand on her phone and lowering it from her face. “Alone.”

Julie stared at him for a long moment before nodding. “Okay. Okay, yeah,” she replied, and Luke motioned for Reggie to follow him before he poofed out. Nick was sad to see the boy go, but he knew he had to do this alone.

Feeling extremely anxious, Nick fidgeted with the sleeves of his jacket, unsure of where to start. “H-how’s your day?” he asked, figuring that was as good a place as any.

Julie looked at him like he’d suggested they rob a bank. Ok, so maybe not the best place to start after all.

“How long have you been a ghost?” Julie asked, immediately getting to the point.

“Since the funeral,” Nick responded. “I was going to talk to you, but it didn’t exactly work.”

“When Reggie came by afterwards?”

“Yeah.”

“And you’ve been hanging out with Luke, Alex, and Reggie ever since.”

“Pretty much.”

“But you’ve been avoiding me.”

Julie hadn’t meant it in a rude way, but Nick still flinched, thinking there hadn’t been a good opportunity to approach her. Then again, Nick figured there never was a good time to tell your friend you were a ghost.

“Sorry, I-“ Julie started.

“I’m so sorry-“ Nick spoke at the same time, and they both stopped in their tracks, unsure of who should go first.

“Well, this is awkward.” Julie, who’d still been pacing, headed to the couch and slumped onto it. Nick hesitated a moment before joining her on the opposite end.

“This reminds me of that day in 7th grade, when I was the new kid.” Nick recalled the moment like it was yesterday. “You were supposed to show me around school, but you were so nervous you could barely speak.”

Julie laughed. “Yeah. It’s ‘cause all I could think about was how cute you were.”

“Hey, why the past tense? I’m still cute!” Nick said, pretending to be offended. “This hairstyle doesn’t just happen magically.”

“Yeah, well, your fedoras kind of negate that.”

“What? Everyone loves my fedoras!”

“That’s just what they say to make you feel better.”

The two grinned, and Nick already felt better, like nothing had gone wrong and he was still alive and simply hanging out with one of his best friends on the weekend. But when the moment ended, he knew he had to address the situation.

“I’m sorry. For not telling you sooner, and for hiding from you, and…for everything that happened with Caleb,” Nick said softly. “I didn’t mean to bring chaos into your life like that.”

“I accept the first two apologies,” Julie responded. “But not the third. That wasn’t your fault. I should’ve noticed something was off with you, but I was too caught up in my own problems to realize before it was too late.”

“Hey. You did your best,” Nick argued. “You can’t blame yourself for that.”

“It seems we’re both apologizing for things we had no control over.”

“Then let’s call it a truce.”

“Definitely.”

And then Julie reached over to Nick and wrapped her arms around him, and somewhere in his head Nick was trying to process how this was possible, but he realized he didn’t care. He hugged Julie back, squeezing tightly, and felt a warmth spread throughout him, starting in his chest and moving out to his limbs. He looked down at his hands and realized they were glowing.

“Woah. What the heck?” Nick pulled away and stared at his arms. “Is this normal?”

“Uh, it’s kind of something I can do?” Julie said. “I don’t know. It’s weird. But it happened to Luke, Alex, and Reggie, and now they can sort of appear and disappear whenever they want to and interact with living people.”

“Wow. You got some pretty awesome magic powers.” Nick felt calmer, and he wasn’t sure if it was because of the hug, or his conversation with Julie, or maybe both. But it felt good to let out what was on his mind, and he could tell from Julie’s expression that she felt the same way.

Just then, Flynn burst through the studio doors. “Oh my god Jules, you were serious?!” she cried, staring at Nick. She rubbed her eyes frantically before looking again. “He’s right there. Insane.”

“Sorry, I tried to tell her that you guys needed some space, but she refused to wait,” Luke said, trailing in behind Flynn with Reggie in tow.

Nick laughed. “It’s alright. Flynn was never that patient, anyways.”

Flynn launched herself onto the couch, pulling Nick into a bear hug. “It is so good to see you,” she mumbled into his shoulder.

“You too, Flynn.”

“Alright alright, enough with the sappy stuff,” Luke grumbled. Julie glared at him, but he remained firm. “I’m serious. I will not stand here and watch everyone cry about this when we could go and have fun or something. Look, Reggie’s already on the verge of tears.”

“Am not!” Reggie argued, his eyes visibly wet.

Flynn pulled away suddenly. “I know _exactly_ what to do! Luke, go get Alex and Willie. Julie, see if your dad can drive us somewhere.”

Nick grinned. He missed Julie’s company and Flynn’s bossiness and the general sense of normalcy. “What do you have planned?” he asked Flynn.

“You’ll see.”

.

Thirty minutes later, Nick found himself in a karaoke room with Julie, Flynn, Alex, Luke, Reggie, and Willie. “This is your plan?” he asked Flynn, but he honestly wasn’t surprised.

“Absolutely! It’s the perfect way to let out your emotions.” Flynn moved to the TV and turned it on, picking _I Wanna Dance with Somebody_. “C’mon Jules. It’s me and you.”

“Really? Me first? I’m gonna embarrass myself,” Julie argued.

“Step aside, amateurs.” Alex pushed his way into the front and grabbed two mics, handing one to Flynn. “It’s my time to shine.”

“Aww man, I wish I could record this,” Luke said sadly. Next to him, Willie was trying hard not to laugh and failing miserably.

The music started, and Flynn and Alex immediately got into position, singing together perfectly.

“Oh, I wanna dance with somebody  
I wanna feel the heat with somebody  
Yeah, I wanna dance with somebody  
With somebody who loves me!”

They sung and Alex spun Flynn around, both of them giggling uncontrollably. Julie had pulled Nick to his feet, and the two began jamming out. Nick knew he was probably making a fool of himself, but the thought flew from his mind as everyone else got into it as well.

“My turn!” Willie called when Flynn and Alex finished. “Oh man, I’m feeling Lady Gaga. Who’s gonna sing _Shallow_ with me?”

“Who’s that?” Reggie asked.

Nick gasped in shock. “You don’t know Lady Gaga?”

“Died in ’95, remember?”

“What a shame.” Nick took the second mic. “I’m about to change your life.”

“Tell me somethin', boy  
Are you happy in this modern world?  
Or do you need more?  
Is there somethin' else you're searchin' for?”

Nick and Willie both got into the song, singing to Reggie and Alex. Nick didn’t realize when he’d gotten so close to Reggie, both of them staring into each other’s eyes, but then the song ended, and Nick reluctantly stepped back.

Luke dragged Reggie to the front, taking the mic from Nick. “C’mon dude, we gotta show them our stuff!” He went through the list before settling on _Don’t Stop Believin’_.

“Just a small town girl  
Livin' in a lonely world  
She took the midnight train goin' anywhere  
Just a city boy  
Born and raised in south Detroit  
He took the midnight train goin' anywhere.”

“Okay, go off!” Flynn yelled, and Nick laughed so hard he started choking. Towards the end of the song, Reggie made his way back to Nick and held his hand for the final words.

“Don't stop believin'  
Hold on to the feelin'  
Streetlights, people!”

Nick hoped Reggie couldn’t tell how hard he was blushing in the dimly lit room.

“You have to show us what you got, Julie,” Luke teased, pushing her to the front. “Give us your best!”

“Oh, you guys are so going down.” She looked through the list before grinning and settling on _…Baby One More Time_.

“I think I did it again  
I made you believe we're more than just friends  
Oh baby  
It might seem like a crush  
But it doesn't mean that I'm serious.”

Julie was singing to Luke to taunt him, but it was obvious to Nick that they had chemistry. The two only had eyes for each other, getting lost in the moment and each other’s company.

Somehow the time flew by, and when the group finally called it a day and headed outside, it was almost nighttime. Nick breathed in the fresh, cold air, reveling in the moment.

“I haven’t had that much fun in ages,” Alex said. “Flynn, you’re a genius.”

“Finally, someone appreciates me! But the day isn’t over yet,” Flynn replied with a grin.

“Oh no, now what?” Julie asked.

“Girl, quit acting like you don’t know. This is our tradition!”

“Oh my gosh, how could I forget?”

“You two wanna fill us in?” Nick asked.

“Sleepover time!” Julie and Flynn cried.

.

There was not nearly enough space in Julie’s room, so they all worked together to setup space in the studio. The couch was converted into a pull-out bed, and Julie brought in sleeping bags and an old TV that she set up in one corner. It was a bit crowded, what with the piano, drums, and guitars pushed against the walls, but Nick thought it was quite cozy.

“Okay boys, gather around and let me introduce you to the world of the latest Star Wars films.” Julie set up the TV and navigated the menu, selecting the first prequel movie.

“Woah, you don’t need a tape or anything?” Alex asked.

“Nope. Haven’t even seen one in years, although my dad probably has a box of them somewhere,” Julie responded.

“Is this going to be bad? I feel like it’s going to be bad,” Reggie said, sitting down next to Nick on one of the sleeping bags.

“Well, they’re not _horrible_.” Nick did his best to make the movies seem half-decent, but he clearly hadn’t remembered how unbearable they were. The group spent the next four hours roasting the first two prequels relentlessly. Reggie lost it when Anakin said he hated sand, wheezing uncontrollably and forcing Julie to pause the movie so he could take a moment to cope.

By the time they reached the end of the second film, Nick noticed Julie and Flynn had both fallen asleep – Julie was curled up against Luke, and Flynn was squished between Alex and Willie on the couch.

“Man, sometimes I wish we could rest,” Reggie commented. “I mean, not that I don’t mind the extra time, but it seems comfortable, you know?” He laid down next to Nick, resting his head in the boy’s lap and closing his eyes.

“Dude, are you trying to fall asleep?” Luke asked quietly, doing his best not to disturb Julie.

“Yeah. Just give it thirty minutes, and I’ll figure it out.”

“That’s not- yeah, okay,” Alex muttered, giving up.

“I think he’s got a good idea,” Willie argued in Reggie’s defense. “Try it before you doubt it, you know?”

“Exactly,” Nick said, leaning against the wall behind him and closing his eyes. He knew where Reggie was coming from. It was nice, sometimes, to act like everything was normal.

“Alright, since you’re so convinced,” Luke said, giving up, and the boys settled into a comfortable silence.

In his head, Nick wondered how the day would’ve played out if he hadn’t spoken to Julie, or if he hadn’t even died in the first place. And yet, no scenario he could come up with could beat this moment, surrounded by friends and with Reggie curled up next to him, knowing that whatever happened next, he wasn’t alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	9. Flynn

Flynn was avoiding Carrie.

She absolutely didn’t want to. But after Nick had revealed himself to Julie, Flynn knew there was no way she’d be able to face Carrie and not tell her about it. It had been bad enough when Flynn found out that Carrie’s dad had been in Luke, Alex, and Reggie’s band in the 90s, but this…this was extreme.

And so she hadn’t called Carrie back. Whenever they passed each other in the hallways, Flynn looked away quickly, acting like she hadn’t noticed the blonde at all. They had a class together, music, but there was never an opportunity to talk, which Flynn was grateful for, even if it made her sad.

Flynn made it about a week before Carrie confronted her. She stormed up to Flynn’s locker after lunch one day, hands on her hips in that I-mean-business sass she often had.

“What’s your problem?” Carrie snapped. “First you say you want to help me, then you hang out with me, then you ignore me for a week?”

“Carrie I— I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

“Are you sure? Because I tried getting your attention the entire time we were in music today. You never even glanced at me.”

“Right. I, uh…”

“Are you going to give me a clear answer?”

Flynn couldn’t even bring herself to look at Carrie. “No. I can’t.”

“Great. So glad to know this whole thing was a bust.” She stormed off before Flynn could even try to explain why, leaving her with a horrible tightness in her chest.

.

One of the things Flynn loved about Julie was that she always knew when Flynn was in a bad mood. They’d had plans to study together in the studio after school, but one look at Flynn and Julie brought out the cookie dough ice cream and set up _Gossip Girl_ on the TV instead.

“You wanna talk about it?” Julie asked.

Flynn swallowed the ice cream she’d shoveled into her mouth. “Yeah. I just, I hate Carrie not knowing. She got mad at me today, for not talking to her. Isn’t that how our friendship broke up the first time? You know I can’t handle lies, Jules.”

Julie thought for a moment. “You’re right.”

“Really? I mean, of course I am. But really?”

“We’ve been doing the same thing I did to you when I first met the boys, and what she did to us in middle school, and it’s not fair.”

Flynn scrambled to set down her bowl of ice cream, turning to Julie. “So I can tell her?”

“Yeah, Flynn, you can tell her. Just go easy, okay? I don’t want—“

Julie was cut off by banging on the studio door, shocking both of them.

“I’ll get it,” Flynn said, standing up. She had no idea who it could’ve been, considering none of their ghost friends were polite enough to knock.

Flynn pushed the door open, and to her surprise, it was Carrie. Her initial excitement upon seeing the blonde girl was quickly turned to concern, as Flynn took in Carrie’s red eyes, messy hair, and heavy breathing.

“Carrie? Are you alright?” Flynn asked.

“What. The Hell. Is this?” Carrie shoved a crumpled polaroid in Flynn’s face, and Flynn grabbed it, examining it carefully. It was hard to make out at first, considering it was in black and white, but the faces were clear enough. It was Luke, Alex, and Reggie, looking exactly like they did now, standing next to a young Trevor Wilson. The bottom of the picture read, “The Orpheum: Final Rehearsal, July 22nd, 1995.”

Flynn swallowed, trying to calm herself before responding. This was not at all how she wanted to break the news to Carrie. “Maybe you should come inside,” she suggested.

“Not until you explain this. That’s my dad. And Julie’s band. Is this some kind of prank? After everything that happened this week, you’d think—“

Carrie was cut off by a loud thud, and Flynn spun around, finding Luke standing behind her. Great.

“Hey guys, I was thinking...wait, is that Bobby’s daughter?”

“Bobby? What...who...how did you do that?” Carrie cried. 

“Shit. She can see me.”

“Yes! Is that not normal?”

As if things couldn’t get worse, Alex was next. Flynn cringed as he showed up next to Luke, jaw dropping upon seeing Carrie. “Uh, Julie? You didn’t mention she was going to be here.”

“This is too much. I’m dreaming,” Carrie mumbled, running her fingers through her hair.

“Now’s not a good time, guys!” Julie exclaimed, but of course Reggie came in last.

“What’s going on?”

“Not now, Reggie!” Luke and Alex yelled, confusing the boy.

“Flynn, Julie, one of you tell me this isn’t happening. I’m going crazy,” Carrie said at the same time.

“Everyone shut up!” Flynn yelled, but nobody heard her over their continuous arguing.

“Are we just calling out names? Because I can do that!” Reggie said. “Oh hey, there’s Nick!”

Everyone abruptly stopped talking.

Carrie turned around slowly, her face pale. Sure enough, standing behind her was Nick, hands in his jacket pockets and looking like he’d just made the biggest mistake of his existence.

And then Carrie fainted. Flynn barely managed to catch the girl, lowering her slowly to the ground.

“That’s it. If you’re a ghost, get out! Now!” Julie yelled, and the boys finally obliged, disappearing.

Julie rushed over to Carrie with a pillow, placing it under the girl’s head. Luckily, the girl had already started stirring, and blinked multiple times before opening her eyes wide.

“Are you okay?” Flynn asked gently.

Carrie nodded slowly. “Yeah. I just had the weirdest dream, I think, and...why are you both looking at me like that?”

“Can you stand up? Let’s get you to the couch,” Julie suggested, and they moved the girl over there, making sure she was comfortable and breathing steadily.

“That wasn’t a dream, was it?”

Flynn and Julie glanced at each other before Flynn responded. “No. No, it wasn’t.”

“But Nick...he...” Carrie trailed off. “He didn’t die?”

“He did,” Julie confirmed. “It’s a long story. Why don’t I get you some water, and Flynn will tell you everything, okay?”

She got up, leaving the two alone, and Flynn sat down on the table in front of Carrie. She opened her mouth multiple times, unsure of where to start, before glancing at the photograph she hadn’t realized she was still clutching and figured starting with Sunset Curve was best.

Flynn told the story slowly, doing her best not to leave out any details. She went from the boys’ deaths to them appearing in Julie’s house to the formation of Julie and the Phantoms, and Carrie didn’t interrupt once, not even when Flynn brought up the songs Trevor had stolen. At some point, Julie had returned with a glass of water, and Carrie chugged it down.

Flynn got to Nick’s part in the story, and that was when Carrie started shaking. When Flynn broke the news of his actual cause of death, Carrie asked her to stop for a moment, doing her best to steady her breathing. But she signaled she was fine, and Flynn finished.

There was silence between the three girls for a long time. Carrie looked like her entire world had come crashing down on her, and Flynn felt bad for the girl.

“So let me get this straight,” Carrie finally said. “My dad’s former band is now your band, my ex-boyfriend’s a ghost, and there’s some crazy millionaire magician after you?”

“Oh yeah, and Alex crashed one of your Dirty Candy performances,” Flynn chimed in.

Julie elbowed Flynn in the chest at this. “Too soon.”

“Sorry. Just trying to relieve the tension.”

“Flynn wanted to tell you sooner,” Julie said. “But I asked her not to.”

Carrie gave her a grim smile. “I get it. I wouldn’t trust me either.”  
“It wasn’t because of you, I promise. We just weren’t sure if your dad…” Julie trailed off.

“I mean, he was freaked after the Orpheum performance,” Flynn reminded Carrie. “We weren’t sure if he was going to try and come after the boys or something.”

“Right.” Carrie stood up abruptly. “Well, I better get going.”

“You’re not gonna stay? Did you want to maybe see Nick?” Flynn asked gently.

“Not today. I think I’ll head home. I’ll see you both at school tomorrow?”

Flynn wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so she just nodded, and Carrie turned and left the studio without another word. But after she disappeared, Flynn realized she’d forgotten the old polaroid on the table, and so Flynn grabbed it and rushed out after her.

“Carrie, wait! You forgot this,” she called, chasing Carrie down Julie’s driveway, where the girl was standing at the end, waiting for her ride. She turned when Flynn approached her, and took the picture from her hands, staring at it.

“I…” And then Carrie broke down, tears streaming down her face. Her whole body trembled, and not knowing what else to do, Flynn wrapped her arms around her.

“Shh. It’s going to be fine,” Flynn whispered, rubbing Carrie’s back. “You’re strong. You’ll get through this.”

“I can’t, though,” Carrie pulled away and rubbed her eyes, but she was still shaking. “I’ve never felt so broken, Flynn. Everything and everyone I thought were constants in my life just fell apart. I don’t have anything left. My dad’s a liar, and my best friend’s dead, and my music career is over.”

“You have me,” Flynn corrected, placing her hands on Carrie’s shoulders. “You’ll always have me. You know that.”

“Do I? Because if I recall correctly, you ignored me for a week.”

“Carrie…”

“Sorry. I shouldn’t have even come by today.” Carrie stepped away, and just then a car pulled up in front of them – it was Carrie’s Uber.

“Carrie, wait!” Flynn yelled, but the girl ignored her, sitting inside the car and slamming the door shut. Flynn watched as it disappeared down the road, unable to bring herself to move.

.

Carrie missed the next two days of school, and it made Flynn scared. She barely focused on schoolwork as it was, always getting distracted. But with Carrie gone it was ten times worse. Flynn couldn’t stop thinking about whether or not she was handling things well and debated on whether or not she should stop by her home and check on her. Flynn knew the last thing Carrie wanted was to see her, but she refused to repeat her mistakes, and so when Mrs. Harrison asked if someone could bring Carrie some sheet music, Flynn took the opportunity.

Since Julie was busy practicing for a gig later that night, Flynn went to Carrie’s alone. She stood on the doorstep for five minutes before gaining the courage to ring the doorbell, and when nobody responded at first, she figured it would be best to just go home. But when Flynn finally turned around, Carrie opened the door.

“Flynn? What do you want?” Carrie asked, and Flynn spun around. She sounded horrible, her voice all scratchy, and when Flynn saw her face she knew she was sick. Her skin was extremely pale, and she was wrapped in a blanket and shivering despite the warmth from the sun.

“Jesus, Carrie. Let me get you inside.” Carrie didn’t argue, so Flynn led her back in and forced her to sit on the couch.

“I’m fine, Flynn, I promise,” Carrie argued, but she punctuated the sentence with multiple sneezes, so Flynn ignored her. She marched into the kitchen, moving through the cabinets until she found a packet of green tea and some honey and made a hot drink for Carrie, and returned to the couch to give it to the girl.

“Drink that, and then we’ll talk,” Flynn instructed, and Carrie obliged, slowly sipping the drink until there was only bits of green and leftover honey at the bottom.

“Why’d you even come here?” Carrie asked.

“I told you. I won’t stop caring about you,” Flynn said. “We’ve made this mistake twice before, and I’m not about to fall for it again.”

“Thank you,” Carrie whispered, and she gave Flynn a smile. It was weak, but Flynn knew it was genuine, so maybe they’d be okay.

“Now, tell me what you need. I’m going to stay here all night until you feel better,” Flynn said, and she meant it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this is late! Some quick notes about the final chapters:
> 
> Chapter 10 will be out by Tuesday. I'll skip posting anything on Thursday, so the final two chapters will be out next week.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!


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